Inheriting a Taoist temple, the story begins with Wu Zetian offering incense.

Chapter 287 Immortal Master, you wouldn't want an innocent woman to be scorned, would you? [Seeking Monthly Tickets]

In the Later Zhou Dynasty, Guo Rong was stationed at the Zhuozhou camp, reviewing the achievements of the past few days.

After occupying Zhuozhou, there were many things to deal with in the city. The officials of the Six Ministries who accompanied the army also began to take over the administration of Zhuozhou. They needed to obtain detailed data on everything related to people's livelihood, such as population, farmland, medical care, and education.

As for military matters, although the army appears to be stationary, it is actually preparing to attack Youzhou.

The defense of Yizhou has been completely taken over, and Guo Rong has also sent people to guard Zijing Ridge, which is between Yizhou and Feihu County.

The Khitan troops in Shuozhou, Yingzhou, and Weizhou had two routes to support Youzhou: either through Zijingling between Yizhou and Feihu County, or by taking a longer route through Juyongguan in Huailai County.

Although there are passes such as Songzikou in between, these places are all mountain streams and narrow paths, which are only good for guarding against mountain bandits, but large armies cannot pass through them at all.

Now that the Later Zhou forces have blocked Zijing Ridge, the Liao capital of Xijing will have to take a long detour to provide support, which will inevitably prolong their rescue time.

In the eastern part of Zhuozhou, the counties of Gu'an and Anci were successively captured, and the area was only a step away from Youzhou to the north.

In the past two days, Zhao Kuangyin has cut down a lot of trees and built a pontoon bridge over the Huliang River north of Zhuozhou. The vanguard has already established a defensive line on the north bank of the river, and the main army is steadily advancing towards Youzhou.

In the main camp, Guo Rong used a walkie-talkie to give Zhao Kuangyin the following order:

"We are now outside Youzhou City. The Khitan cavalry could charge at any time. Be prepared. If necessary, scatter caltrops to prevent the cavalry from charging."

Zhao Kuangyin awkwardly pressed the answer button with both hands and said:
"Your Majesty, rest assured, I will investigate thoroughly and will not allow the Khitan dogs to take advantage of any loopholes."

After ending the call, Guo Rong instructed Han Tong:

"I'm going to the Immortal Master to report on the results of the past five days. When I return, we'll take Youzhou in one fell swoop!"

After saying that, he disappeared from the camp, leaving Han Tong in a daze, feeling as if he were dreaming.

Inside the Hunyuan Palace, just as Zhou Yi was about to divine Guo Rong's situation, he saw the emperor, dressed in golden armor, stride out of the God of Wealth Hall.

To be honest, this color of armor really suits Guo Rong quite well.

The God of Wealth must be covered in gold!

"I've seen the immortal!"

Guo Rong quickly bowed to Zhou Yi upon seeing him, and was about to report on the capture of Zhuozhou when Zhou Yi spoke up:

"You took Zhuozhou in just one day. Your speed is truly astounding in the entire history of China. Also, there are many other uses for drones. Don't limit them to reconnaissance."

His words surprised Guo Rong. Before he could even say a word, the immortal knew everything. Immortals are indeed immortals, they can see everything!
Guo Rong, with a sigh, asked for advice:

"Public trials can indeed quickly win people's hearts. May I ask, Immortal Master, are there any drawbacks?"

The Book of Changes says:

"Of course there are. Public trials can only be carried out under the premise of a clear rule of law, and only those who have committed heinous crimes can be tried. If it is a minor offense, a public trial may have the opposite effect."

Guo Rong kept it in mind and thanked him repeatedly.

The Book of Changes asks:

"Have you eaten? Come on, come on, there's some fried chicken, you can have a bite to eat."

He led Guo Rong back to the courtyard, where Li Qingzhao laid out the fried chicken that she and Wu Meiniang hadn't finished eating in front of Guo Rong:
"God of Wealth, come and have a taste! If you eat my fried chicken, you must bless me with good luck in gambling and prevent me from losing money!"

Zhou Yi flicked her forehead:
"Gambling is forbidden among Taoists. Be careful, or the Taoist Ancestor will take away all your luck and make you lose every time you gamble."

Li Duidui was startled. This was much more painful than never getting married. She wanted to argue, but she was worried that the Three Pure Ones would really empty her luck bar.

Zhou Yi went to the kitchen, heated up the noodles in the pot, fried a few eggs, and stir-fried some minced meat.

Put the noodles in a small bowl, add chicken broth, top with minced meat, and add some blanched vegetables. It actually looks quite appetizing.

Guo Rong, holding a small bowl, ate noodles with gusto while talking about the impending Battle of Youzhou. However, fear still prevailed among the soldiers, who were always worried that the Khitan cavalry would suddenly launch an attack.

Upon hearing this, Wu Zetian said to Li Qingzhao:

“Sister Zhao’er, can you go back now? Have Zhao Xu bring back all the gunpowder weapons manufactured by the Military Equipment Bureau tomorrow for Guo Rong to use… Once the Khitans suffer a great loss in this matter, they will be terrified and flee beyond the Great Wall. The Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun will be pacified with a single proclamation.”

It may seem like a lot of trouble, but it's the fastest way to end the war.

The Khitan relied on their cavalry, and the gunpowder bombs, although not very powerful, were a perfect tool for controlling horses. In particular, the loud noise and thick smoke produced by the explosion would definitely cause warhorses that had not undergone desensitization training to react immediately.

Once a warhorse becomes stressed, it will no longer obey commands, which is equivalent to losing its fighting ability.

Li Qingzhao never imagined that her happy times would end so soon:
"Alright then, next time I come, will you take me to the food street again, Master?"

Zhou Yi nodded:

"no problem!"

The girl tidied her clothes, slung her backpack over her shoulder, rode her pink electric scooter to the Wenxuan King's Palace, and in a flash appeared in the world of Emperor Zhezong of the Northern Song Dynasty. Putting down her backpack, she excitedly left home and sped off to the palace, where she relayed Wu Meiniang's request.

Zhao Xu immediately ordered the Director of the Military Equipment Bureau and Zhao Ji to begin producing vacuum-packed black powder, hand-forged grenade casings, and matching fuses, and to send them all to the palace the next day, no matter how many.

The Zhao family members clearly lacked confidence when facing Guo Rong, so now that they had an opportunity to help him, they naturally had to go all out.

Inside Hunyuan Palace, Guo Rong finished his noodles, changed into the Taoist robe Zhou Yi had prepared for him, and dressed up as a Taoist priest.

To be honest, he was handsome and had an air of nobility. Even in a simple blue Taoist robe, he immediately gave off the feeling of a chief mage.

Zhou Yi left Wu Meiniang to watch the house, and drove Guo Rong down the mountain for a drive, letting him see modern society. They even went to the supermarket and bought a shopping cart full of candy to take back and motivate the soldiers.

As night fell, in the courtyard of Hunyuan Palace, Zhou Yi set up the projector, placed some beer and snacks on a simple table, and led Guo Rong to watch a documentary about Zhao Kuangyin.

Sitting next to Zhou Yi, Wu Zetian couldn't help but say as she watched Zhao Kuangyin pacify Later Shu:

"This Lady Huarui is quite principled. If there is an opportunity, we can bring her to serve the immortal."

Zhou Yi smiled and said:

"I'm not even seventy or eighty years old yet, why are you bringing so many beautiful women to serve me?"

Guo Rong took it quite seriously:

"When I get back, I will send someone to Shu to ask if this woman has entered the palace. If she hasn't, I will bring her to be presented to the immortal."

Just as Zhou Yi was about to refuse, Wu Meiniang said:
"Later Shu has always regarded Lady Huarui as a femme fatale, believing that she corrupted the King of Shu... Immortal Master, you wouldn't want an innocent woman to be reviled for generations, would you?"

The Book of Changes: ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

Goodness, Meiniang, what kind of content do you usually search for online? How did you even learn this kind of sentence structure?
To prevent Her Majesty the Empress from coming up with any more ridiculous excuses, Zhou had no choice but to give in.

"Fine, fine, you can handle your personal life, I won't interfere anymore."

Guo Rong couldn't help but laugh at this scene. He always felt that the immortal was a scholar being disciplined by his first wife. But a scholar who could be taken as a concubine by his first wife must be very happy, right?

After watching the documentary, Guo Rong remarked:
"Shu has been unstable for decades, and the Jiangnan region has been under attack for several years. Once we take the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun and sweep away the Northern Han, I will head south as soon as possible. I will launch a major offensive against the Southern Tang and select a secondary force to attack Shu. Without winning a few solid and impressive battles, it will be difficult for Shu to submit to the imperial court."

In addition to fighting wars, we also need to develop gunpowder.

If the Northern Song Dynasty could build it, the Great Zhou Dynasty certainly could too.

Wu Zetian reminded her:

"The Tangut people of Western Xia need to be closely guarded against, lest they establish a state again."

Throughout the Song Dynasty, the Western Xia was not particularly powerful, but it was so disgusting that people were at a loss. Zhou Yi believes that the Western Xia's greatest contribution was that it killed the steppe overlord Temujin.

Of course, the consequences were also severe. The Western Xia royal family was exterminated by the Mongols, and everyone was buried with Temujin.

It's unlikely that Genghis Khan will appear in the world of the Later Zhou Dynasty. However, in the Southern Song Dynasty, Xin Qiji will inevitably encounter the Mongols, and there may even be several major battles.

Whether Temujin was Genghis Khan or Sheng Jisihan depends on Xin Qiji's abilities.

The next morning, Gongsun Da Niang and Li Bai arrived early to report on the grand military parade. When they saw Guo Rong there, the two of them surrounded him and asked him all sorts of questions.

After breakfast, Uncle Ming drove a Land Rover Range Rover up the mountain.

Today we're going to a crane factory to perform a Buddhist ceremony, and Uncle Ming wants to come along and share in the good fortune.

Zhou Yi asked him to shake hands with Guo Rong, and then began to move the ritual implements to the car.

After making all the preparations, he instructed Gongsun Da Niang and the others to keep an eye on Hunyuan Palace, and then he and Wu Meiniang got into the back seat of the Range Rover and headed to the Lushan County Lifting Equipment Factory.

On the way, Uncle Ming asked about Guo Rong's identity:
"Who is that person? Is he a leader of the Taoist Association? He looks very noble, not like a local."

The Book of Changes says:

"A pilgrim who does short-term pilgrimages, owns a large company, and is quite low-key. We met by chance... How have you been lately? Have you been involved with the blind man in murder and arson again?"

When this topic came up, Uncle Ming immediately got excited:

"The day before yesterday, we joined forces to kill a wicked cultivator who made human artifacts in Yiyang City Forest Park. I originally wanted to invite you to participate, but Chairman Han thought that guy was too evil and worried that it would tarnish your merits, so I didn't invite you. I heard that the wicked cultivator also has an older brother who is very skilled."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yi said:

"Call me next time, and I'll be your bane to all evil cultivators."

I haven't used my Rank 8 Lightning Strike Technique since it was upgraded; it's time to show it off. I wonder if the blind man will become emo again after seeing my Lightning Strike Technique...

Sigh, that's the downside of teaming up with older people; you have to cater to their fragile little hearts, so it's not as fun as you could have!
(End of this chapter)